Cool-Runnings Dry Stout:I capped the mash on the imperial with a half pound of crystal, 1.5 lbs of 2 row & 2 oz roasted barley (I did a mini mash on the side & added it to the MLT).
After 5 gallons the gravity was still 1.019, so I got greedy & collected another gallon; it went down to 1.017. The brew day was getting long (after picking hops & already doing the imperial), so I didn't boil it as long as I should have.
The OG was only 1.036, so I topped it up with a lb of molasses.
Safale S-04 British yeast

After a 14 hr brew day, I'm thinking I should've done some cleaning while I was mashing (rather than surfing the net)! Ah well... it was good day.

Next morning report: the Imperial has settled down, but the dry stout is going like crazy! The S04 is really diggin' the junk food (molasses), pushing foam out the open carboy!

Last edited by Derek on Sat Sep 12, 2009 10:48 am, edited 1 time in total.

Just bottled a smoked porter last night. Waiting for a Belgian wit I bottled two weeks ago to fully carbonate. I've got a pumpkin ale made with the Wyeast Unibroue yeast in primary, a saison in one secondary, and an old ale that needs another couple of months in another secondary.

For both the porter and wit I've bottled a few with Belgian-style corks and cages.

Not brewing anything per se, however last night I did try a bottle of the saison I bottled two weeks ago. Verdict? Needs more time...maybe another week or two. I'm very pleased with the IPA I also bottled two weeks ago. Fantastic cascade aroma, ideal bitterness for my tastes and a nice tight head that lasts right to the bottom of the glass.

Plan is to brew an ESB and a Mild Ale next weekend.

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.

OG: 1.079
FG: currently sitting at 1.017, but hoping to finish around 1.012 - 1.015.

My current name for it is Imperial IPA of Doom.

And a few weeks ago, I bottled up a 9% Imperial Witbier that finished real nice and dry (I think it went from 1.075 to 1.008), with a ton of orange and spice character that should settle down into a real fine drink in a couple of months.

I think we're doing a 20 gallon batch of our Monk's Elixir quadrupel on saturday. Brewed up a dubbel last saturday for a fat yeast cake. I have some sour cherries I picked in July in the freezer so maybe I'll do some cherry quad.

If any of the commercial brewers are doing anything interesting, feel free to chime in.

Update on my big stout,

I was afraid the fermentation might be stalling, so I measured the gravity today... 1.020 after 4 days! Thats 77% attenuation! And at over 9% abv, it doesn't taste nearly as harsh as I'd expect. That chico yeast still amazes me!

Though I must say, the hopping is probably covering up some of the fermentation byproducts. Right now it tastes more like a black DIPA than a big stout.

markaberrant wrote:Looks like a great recipe, similar to what I'm attempting with my next Dark Strong. What kind of FG did you get on that?

last years batch started at an OG of 1.089 and finished up at 1.008 (just shy of 11% and 90% attenuation!). it was supposed to be bigger bit didn't boil off as much as expected. first brew of it in '07 went from 1.104 to 1.028. i preferred the first year as it was a little fruitier, which i'd mainly attributed to it fermenting a couple of degrees warmer (that yeast is more fruity at higher temps), but it could have been partly due to the extra sugars present too. have to watch the mash temp this time and make sure it stays up.